jonathan ben gordon

I think this is an unappreciated classic. Steiger and coburn obviously loved playing off one another. The music is superlative even for morricone. The photography is vibrant and some scenes seem right out of an el Greco. It’s real long, and purely delicious all the winding way through comedy to adventure to tragedy to nostalgia. If you’ve got the patience, dig in for a really wonderful experience. It’s not like any other film I know. More than a western.

Take elements from other successful dramas : wilderness rescue, single dad, family going to small town as fortunes tumble, Beverly Hills 90210, adolescent psycho drama over popularity and bullying, even a penguin- and make characters that are one dimensional and act with no plausible human motivation. The kid bickering is painful to watch. And not a trace of humor in any part of any episode. And there you have an awful soap opera in which even the penguin has no reason for his behaviour. Do yourself a favor- watch something good instead.